


Punctured Edges

by DRHPaints



Category: Barry (TV 2018), Bill Hader - Fandom
Genre: 69 (Sex Position), Angst, Barry Season 2 References, Blood, Blow Jobs, Caretaking, Cunnilingus, Denial of Feelings, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fights, Fluff, Forbidden Love, Gun Violence, Guns, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Mutual Pining, Smut, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:28:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28463133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DRHPaints/pseuds/DRHPaints
Summary: After Barry develops a crush on Hank's friend Talia while training the Chechen men, she's initially interested until he expresses his wish to leave the life of crime and pursue acting. As her greatest aspiration is to become an assassin, denied by her father's position in the Chechen mob and misogyny, Talia tells Barry they should only be friends. But as they continue to collide, Barry and Talia's attraction eventually proves undeniable.
Relationships: Barry Berkman/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Unlikelybeardsublime1212](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unlikelybeardsublime1212/gifts).



Adjusting the brim of his black cap beneath the unforgiving sunlight, Barry crossed his firm arms as Hank prattled on.  _ He didn’t even know all these guys spoke English. Fuck, this is going to be a nightmare…  _

Again Barry’s cobalt eyes traveled to the lone female leaning on one voluptuous hip at the edge of the gaggle of men. Tapping on her phone, crimson waves dancing in the breeze, apparently bored. When she emerged from Hank’s car, the two of them gabbing in rapidfire Chechen and, occasionally, to Barry’s surprise, gesturing in his direction, he didn’t know what to make of the black-clad woman who separated from Hank, parked on her screen to ignore the proceedings.

“Hey Hank,” Barry leaned down once he sensed a lull in his diatribe and tried to subtly point. “Who is she?”

“Oh, this is Talia!” Voice boisterous and gesturing proudly, Barry rolled his eyes at Hank’s lack of discretion. “My best of friends.” 

Hank beamed beneath his black beret and Talia peeked up, her dainty fingers wiggling in their direction. Waving awkwardly, Barry forced a smile, bending down to mutter in Hank’s ear. “Yeah, but...who is she though? Like...will she talk? Hank, I can’t have just anyone knowing that I--”

“Aw, do not worry about her, Barry.” Hank didn’t lower his tone at all. If anything, he became louder, Barry sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. A chuckle. Barry glanced up. Talia’s lips, color of mayhem and smirk a massacre of amusement, greeted him jovially. “Talia would not tell anyone. She just wanted to come along for fun. Besides…” At that point Hank did whisper, turning his face from the throng and wincing. “To be honest, Barry...Talia is more useful than most of my men. But Chechens, they…” Mouth settling into a flat line, Hank huffed a breath out of his nose. “They do not often let women take part in these things. You understand?”

“Right…” Straightening up, Barry nodded solemnly. “Well...just. Just as long as everyone’s ready to work, I guess…”

Talia batted an unruly strand of red out of her face, watching as the men set up the targets and doing what she could to keep a lid on her annoyance. During the entirety of the drive Hank raved about Barry. His marksmanship. His ruthlessness. His ability to take out anyone at any time with utmost precision and skill.

Amazed Hank couldn’t see steam rising from the lava of her hair, Talia wanted to scream that she could be an ‘Air Jordan’ of assassins, too, if the Chechen men would simply give her a chance. Or a Scottie Pippin, at least. So far, as Barry directed the group in straightforward target practice, puffy-coated arms folded and looking stern, Talia didn’t see anything all that spectacular about his so-called talents.  _ Hank does have one thing right, though…  _ Talia admitted, taking in Barry’s tall, broad stature before the brush-strewn desert backdrop.  _ He is pretty hot… _

And at least standing around in the dust killing time on her phone beat the hell out of playing waitress for the guys back at the monastery, being addressed as ‘hey honey’ all damn day while Talia dispensed a seemingly endless supply of energy drinks and snacks to the ungrateful pigs when she couldn’t escape to hang out with Hank. 

Beer bottle shattering, Mayrbek turned back excitedly to Barry. “Boss, did you see?” Lower lip jutting and prominent eyebrows raised in surprise, Barry offered a tiny nod of approval before Mayrbek spun. “Talia? Did you see me?”

Talia didn’t bother looking up. “Big deal, Mayr.”  _ Like I couldn’t fucking do that if I wanted to… _

Mayrbek’s jubilation faltered, and when he hunkered down again, Barry expected him to waver, the brush off from Talia skewing his concentration. But Mayrbek zeroed in, plucking off every bottle aligned with hateful accuracy, and a finger of ice slid down Barry’s long spine.  _ He already knows… _

Barry remembered. Remembered how one learned to walk into the silence. Take the hand of the demon unknown, unspoken. Give them your name. Your rank. Trust them with all the hurt, all the thoughts, even all the good within yourself. And let them guide you until there is no ‘you’ anymore. Simply a hand. A gun. An eye. A trigger. Barry no longer existed as ‘Barry’ in those moments. No. Barry became Death.

Blinking himself back to reality, Barry cleared his throat. “Alright. Let’s...let’s practice disarming.” 

After exhibiting the basics with Hank, Barry instructed the men to pair off, walking around and adjusting stances and technique. “Boss?” A diminutive man he believed went by Yuri looked up at Barry. “How is it I am supposed to take his gun?” Yuri pointed to his hulking partner. “He is giant. Is impossible.”

“Size really doesn’t make that much of a difference.” Barry shook his head. “As long as you use the technique effectively, particularly if you catch them off guard, they won’t have an advantage over you, no matter how much bigger or stronger they are.” Both Yuri and his compatriot’s eyes narrowed in suspicion and Barry held up his palms. “Okay, I’ll show you. Hang on.” 

Twisting his huge hands and grinning broadly, Barry moseyed up to her and Talia lowered her arm. “Hey, sorry to bother you, I didn’t want to, but, I, um…”  _ Holy shit, I have never met a man who kills people who is this fucking anxious.  _ “Could you help me with something? Maybe?”

“Sure.” Talia shrugged, replacing her phone in her pocket. “What’s up?”

“Um, so, if you could just…” Barry motioned for her to follow, fingers jumping from his hat, his coat, his thighs until they picked up a gun and became sure and solid. “I don’t know if you saw what we were doing?”

Nodding, Talia arched an auburn eyebrow curiously. “Yeah?” 

“Okay, so…” Cords of his neck working, Barry opened himself to the group and raised his flinty voice, inserting a dollop of authority. “Talia here is going to try to disarm me. And you’ll see that using the technique I showed you, it doesn’t matter how big your opponent is, you can still rid them of their weapon.”

Dipping down to Talia, Barry muttered near her ear. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you take it away. I just want to show them it works.”

“ _ Let  _ me?” Talia snarled through gritted teeth, but Barry didn’t hear as he stepped back, M14 clutched loosely.

“Okay. Whenever you’re ready.” Were Barry paying closer attention, he would not have written off the glint in Talia’s emerald eyes as a trick of the desert sunlight. “Don’t worry. Just go for it. You can’t hurt me. It’s fi--”

Knee to the gut. Metal slammed into his sharp jaw. “SHIT!” Dirt filled Barry’s mouth and all he heard was an incessant ringing. Well, that wasn’t precisely true. Barry could hear laughter. A lot of laughter. And above all, a wicked feminine cackle as Talia clutched her stomach, gun aloft in triumph.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Wiping the mirth from her eyes, Talia held a dainty hand out to help Barry up. “But you made that too easy for me.”

Brushing off his knees, Barry gingerly touched a hand to his cheek. “Yeah, I...I guess so.”

“Sorry, I really did not want to hurt this pretty face…” Delicate fingers lifted, ghosting over the crisp line of his stubbled jaw and, if possible, Barry turned a deeper shade of fuschia before Talia rested back on her heels. “But you must admit. You did goad me somewhat, Barry.”

Head bobbing, Barry’s eyes darted as he smiled. “Yeah. Sorry. I...I shouldn’t have assumed you didn’t know what you were doing.”

“No.” Tossing him the gun along with a wink, Talia grinned. “You shouldn’t have.”

A giggle squeaked out of him and Barry tried not to linger overlong on the pleasant way Talia filled out her black jeans as she strutted back to her unobtrusive perch before returning his attention to the men. “Okay. Let’s go again.”

Unsure why he thought the heavy coat would be wise in the Los Angeles heat, Barry unzipped, casting it aside before fixing the bearded Bulat’s grip on his weapon. 

_ Oh damn…  _ Talia drank in the sight of Barry’s shoulders torturing the fabric of his black knit shirt and didn’t notice three texts coming through despite her vibrating palm.

In his time as a Marine, Barry developed a sixth sense for eyes on him, and, every dark hair on his body at attention, he peered around to see Talia’s blade of grass stare crawling up his tall body without shame. Barry giggled. Fidgeted. Blinked. 

“Okay, um…” Waving his hands to corral the Chechens, Barry nodded. “Let’s take a break. Circle up in thirty. Okay, guys?”

When Hank unpacked a cooler containing sandwich rolls, juice boxes, water bottles, and a lovely assortment of pastry bites, Barry simply shook his head and grinned, accustomed to his bountiful courtesy. Subtly wedging himself in line behind Talia and grateful the deference of the men allowed him to cut ahead, Barry pointed at an indefinable dessert on her plate. “That looks good.”

“Oh yes.” Talia smiled, shuffling down to the drinks. “It’s Bird’s Milk Cake. Have you tried it?”

“No.” Shaking his head, Barry snapped up a bottle of water, following Talia with his plate to an unoccupied patch of nothing. 

The two of them hunkered down in the orange expanse and Talia pinched the confection, lifting it to Barry’s wide mouth. “Here. Taste.”

Lips quivering before he could command them to bite, Barry chewed the smooth, delectable treat, holding his large hand in front of his sculpted, rolling jaw before he spoke. “Wow, really good.”

“You will never guess the main ingredient.” Emerald eyes coy and red smirk a tease, Talia took an aching amount of time withdrawing her fingers from her mouth as she consumed the rest of the cake.

“Oh, um…” Following her hand as Talia selected a turkey roll, Barry reminded himself he should be looking at her  _ face _ . “What...what is it?”

Pink tongue performing a cruel circuit before she replied, Talia shrugged. “Sour cream.”

“Really?” Barry arched a dark eyebrow.

“Yes.” Knees wiggling over the ground, Talia leaned forward conspiratorially. “Two pounds of it in one cake.”

“Holy shit!” Pulling his head back, Barry blinked. “How the hell are all you Chechens in such good shape then if you eat this stuff?”

Ticking her chin to the side and causing an avalanche of scarlet to envelop her shoulder, Talia’s gaze climbed up and down Barry’s folded frame. “We find ways to work things off.”

High pitched glee sneaking out of him, Barry’s pink cheeks couldn’t be blamed on the sunny day as he sheepishly studied his plate. “So, um...can I ask? What have you been doing on your phone all day? Playing a game?”

Talia nodded while she munched. “Yes, well…” Teetering her head, she cracked open her water. “Not in the way you’re thinking, probably. My friend back in Chechnya and I, we are playing six degrees of separation. One of our favorites.”

“What’s that?” 

“You really never heard of this?” Corners of her mouth downturned, Talia’s auburn brows shot up and she fished her phone out of her back pocket. “It’s fun. And easy. Well, if you like the movies, it is easy. Otherwise, it can be quite difficult. Here, see…” Shuffling close to Barry, he caught a whiff of her sweet pea and citrus perfume as a swath of Talia’s warmth painted his arm. “What we do is, one of us lists two actors, does not matter who…” Talia scrolled and Barry nodded. “Though it helps if they are very different in age or style, you know. Because the goal is to connect them to one another. This one has been in this thing, with this other one in this thing, and so on, and so on…” Spinning a hand in the air, Talia rolled her eyes. “And whichever one of us can do it in the least amount of moves, wins.”

“Oh.” Grinning, Barry couldn’t help but notice the close proximity of Talia’s face, her mouth. “That is fun.”

Talia hid her phone, never breaking the tether of their gaze. “Yes. It passes the time quite well.”

“I...I’d probably be pretty bad at it.” Barry chuckled, food forgotten in his lap. “I don’t watch enough movies. I’m trying to catch up though. I…” Voice shy, Barry cast his eyes away to a nearby tangle of dry wood. “I want to be an actor.”

Raucous laughter burst out of Talia, hand at her abdomen as she rolled away. “Oh.” Catching sight of Barry’s stung expression, Talia blinked. “You...you are not serious?”

“Oh...yup.” Bobbing his head and mouth flat, Barry held up his palms in defeat. “I...I take classes and stuff. Go on auditions, you know…”

Talia’s face tilted at him as though she were seeing a new species behind glass at the zoo. “But…” Looking past Barry to the training area, Talia narrowed her eyes. “How will you do this and continue with your work? I imagine this would be quite difficult, yes?”

“Oh, yeah, well…” Barry gnawed on a tea cake before gesturing over a vast shoulder with his thumb. “I don’t want to do this anymore. I’m just helping Hank out. Once I get these guys trained up, then I’m done.”

As though night descended and the temperature dropped thirty degrees, Talia stared at him incredulously. Barry clocked her knee inching away as Talia picked her plate out of the sand. “Oh, that is...nice. I’m sure you will find much success, Barry.”

“Thanks…” Barry took the last bite of sandwich from his plate, never imagining that telling a woman he didn’t want to kill people would be such a turn off as he started to stand. “Alright, well...I should probably get back to it.”

“Sounds good.” Attempting to fix her red lips into a smile, Talia assumed she failed miserably as Barry’s tall form lurched away. Cute, sweet, and he didn’t leer at her like the majority of the losers Talia encountered.  _ A shame… _ Talia thought.  _ If Barry does not want this life, better left alone… _

After a few more rounds of practice the men (with the exception of Mayrbek) dismal almost beyond comprehension, called an end to the day and they packed up the wood board targets. Barry wanted to sidle up to Talia, make an excuse to flirt a tad before leaving, but she climbed in Hank’s car, face glued to her screen. Crestfallen, Barry picked up his coat, exchanging a pleasant, albeit too enthusiastic, goodbye with Hank before heading home.

Speaking brisk Chechen as Hank peeled away, he nudged Talia with an elbow. “So, what did I tell you? Barry is amazing, right?”

Talia merely shrugged. “He’s okay.”

“The two of you seemed to be getting along.” Hank eyed her with a playful grin as the wheels skipped back onto the main road. “Pretty chummy during lunch.”

“Yeah, well…” Scenery whipping by, Talia sighed. “Barry, he...he mentioned that he’s only doing the training as a favor. That he doesn’t really want to do this. You know...wet work.”

Hank waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, Barry says things like that all the time. He’s always trying to get away. But…” Warm half smile blossoming. Hank released an audible exhale. “Barry never fails to come back.” 

“Hmm…” 

“He’s sexy though, right?” Extending his arms against the steering wheel, Hank did a little shimmy and Talia grinned. 

Holding up a defeated palm, Talia bobbed her head. “Yeah...yeah, he’s pretty hot.”

“And…” Hank reached over to poke her and Talia swatted him away with a chuckle. “Single.”

“Hank…” Talia rolled her eyes. “I’m not going after Barry. He wants out and I’m trying to claw my way in. Don’t you see a problem there?”

“Eh, well…” Lifting a shoulder as he took a left turn, Hank smirked. “I’ve seen weirder things happen.”

***

Barry perused his wardrobe and scratched the back of his head.  _ Well, there didn’t seem to be a problem with what you wore before _ …  _ It was what came out of your mouth that caused trouble, Berkman. _

So, donning the same outfit, as Barry drove out to the desert, he contemplated Talia. Not since things ended with Sally did Barry catch a spark, sense a rhythm with someone. It was...nice. Sinking into that back and forth. Someone looking at him not with hate or fear or expectation, but with interest. Curiosity. Attraction.

But even Barry admitted Talia came with baggage. With the little he knew about her, Barry could see the possibility of a relationship quickly becoming complicated. Talia was no Sally. Brazen. Unpredictable. Hell, outright dangerous, maybe. 

Barry liked that. Maybe he shouldn’t. Maybe Barry should take the hint of Talia’s disinterest, find another woman. Someone sweet. Simple. A person who aligned with the new life Barry wanted to create.

But in the week since their last training session, Talia burrowed under his skin as though Barry caught a wicked case of dust mites that day in the desert. Dreams awash in swirling crimson hair and smiling green eyes, he found himself trying to think of jokes to tell her, funny anecdotes, excuses to involve her in the process during their next meeting, as Talia proved more than capable.

And, Barry thought the idea of having a partner he didn’t have to hide from, for once, convenient. Based on her reaction, maybe, just maybe, Talia wouldn’t be afraid. Maybe Barry could lower the mask, show her the monster behind the man. Allow the ghoul to breathe in the open air, speak the tongues aloud and summon the demons without fear of recoil or reprimand. The thought of someone, anyone, not to mention a romantic possibility, accepting Barry in totality… Barry hurt to hope.

However, as his car crunched into the dirt, Barry’s pink lips pursed.  _ What if she’s not even here today? Maybe she only came with Hank last week as a fluke… _

Seeing Hank alone, moseying about in a floppy straw hat and applying zinc to his nose, Barry deflated and shuffled toward the throng. 

Slam of a trunk. Barry turned to see Talia, somehow magically avoiding every stick and bush in her path as she stared absently at her phone and joined the group, and his expansive shoulders released a tension he didn't know they held.

"Alright, so…" Once Hank gathered everyone together, Barry clapped his palms. "Today we're going to work on hand-to-hand combat. It's important not to be reliant on a weapon to defend yourself. Because the minute you think you're safe with a gun…" Barry snapped, glaring significantly from man to man. "It's gone. And if you don't know what to do without one, you're dead." 

Talia looked up. The dichotomy of Barry intrigued Talia. When they interacted one on one, the man became flustered, nervous. If she wanted to, Talia could probably tease him enough Barry would simply implode. But when discussing a topic in which he excelled, Barry morphed into a different entity. Self-assured. Confident. Bordering on severe, even. And Talia had to admit, the glint in his unrepentant cobalt gaze as he ordered the others into pairs, the cement of Barry's stubbled jaw as he huffed out an aggravated sigh when they all stood too close together, left her tingling.

"Okay...Talia?" Barry tipped up his square chin in her direction. "Would you be willing to help me demonstrate? Show these guys how to do some take downs?"

Arms coiling like serpents, Barry couldn't tell whether she possessed venom as Talia's fingers slowly rattled over the sleeve of her leather jacket. "This depends, Barry…" Pouting lips. A floating red brow. Barry questioned himself.  _ Okay, this might have been a mistake…  _ "Are you going to treat me as if I’m made of glass? Or will we go for real?"

"For real." Resenting the high and unusual voice that left his twitching pink lips, Barry nodded and swallowed.

"Very good." Talia shed her coat, exposing lightly muscled arms slathered with even more tattoos than Hank, tossing it into the dirt and throwing her phone on top. "Okay." Barry unzipped his jacket apprehensively as Talia approached, cracking her knuckles and shaking her limbs loose. "Ready." Unable to divine exactly what emotion rocked the cages of her green eyes as they drilled into him, the cords of Barry’s neck fretted. "Tell me what you want."

_ Oh fuck… _ "Um…" Discarding his hat, Barry reminded himself no less than a dozen Chechen men were taking notes and he was meant to look as if he were in control of the situation. "Alright, so…" Barry assumed a slight crouch. "I want you to come at me and tr--" Editing, Barry blinked. "And take me down as quickly and effectively as possible." Alarm sounding in his brain, Barry cleared his throat and lowered his voice. "Just...if you could avoid hitting me…" Gesturing vaguely between his legs, Barry shifted his eyes.

Tongue running over her teeth within her mouth, Talia's brows danced. "You got it, Barry. Just say when to go."

"Okay." Telling his broad frame to ready itself, while also remaining loose enough to fall without injury, Barry took a deep breath. "Go."

Talia crashed into him like a hurricane. At first Barry thought she intended to clothesline him, forearm slamming ruthlessly into his Adam's apple, an inadvertent choking noise ushered from between his rounded teeth. But Talia used the running start to her advantage, swinging around his tall body like a pole and latching onto Barry's wide back, boots curling around the front of his ankles with a vicious inward kick as she threw her weight forward until Barry unceremoniously made acquaintance with the ground.

Grunting a cloud of orange, Barry heard no few titters before Talia's breath, warm and jesting, met his joined ear. "Was that good, Barry?" Talia pushed him down a little harder and Barry shivered. "Was that what you wanted?"

"Yes." Barry gasped, and at the lust-addled nature of his word, Talia allowed her fingers to grace the barest inch of his pale flesh before she dismounted.

Shaken and dirty, Barry rose, well aware he would hurt like hell tomorrow as he brushed off his clothes and cricked his neck. "Okay, that was good." Barry indicated Talia and addressed the rest. "But, frankly…" Teetering a hand in the air, he stretched out his lower lip. "I'm kind of doubting most of these guys can pull that off." Talia shrugged humbly and smiled. "So now…" Heel. Toe. Heel. Toe. Barry's muscular legs spread, his powerful arms opened. "My turn."

"Very well." Twisting her hair, Talia tucked it into the back collar of her shirt and prepared her stance. "I suppose I can let you win. This time."

A slow, sexy smirk blossomed over Barry's wide mouth as his deep blue eyes refused to blink. "Just tell me when to go."

“Go.” A wall of man collided into Talia with shocking speed considering Barry's size. Talia attempted to thrust him away, but Barry's solid chest proved immobile as he pinned her wrists between his pecs. Free hand shoving her shoulder back at the same time Talia's legs were swept clear, she soon found herself on her back, Barry above, breath labored and grinning. "Got ya."

"Yes…" Letting herself relax under his weight, Talia swallowed, losing herself in the sun dappled pond of Barry's jocular eyes. "You did."

Barry helped her to her feet, thinking Talia excessively cute covered in grime and wondering if that said something odd about his sexuality before he directed his focus to the men. "Okay, so, see what I did there? Restrain your opponents hands as fast as possible. Obviously, if they have a weapon, you would use what we worked on last time and disarm them first. Then, the best way to get someone down is to knock off their center of gravity. Today, I want you guys to start just going through the motions with each other. No real contact." Pointing to Talia, Barry shook his head. "If you’re not someone who knows what you're doing like she does, you’re just going to get hurt. So don't try it until we have that down."

Hiding cheeks matching her scarlet hair as she donned her jacket, Talia resumed texting while Barry used Hank to outline some shadow moves. Talia squirmed uncomfortably. Looting around in her bra, she fished out a tiny twig.  _ Nice one, Barry _ . Flicking the intruder away, Talia chuckled, viridescent gaze drifting to Barry in between the dancing dots on her screen as the day progressed.

When they paused for lunch, Hank displaying a number of tasty pasta salads and cold cuts, Barry summoned his courage to approach Talia in the shade of Hank's car, but halfway there Mayrbek intercepted.

Barry didn't know what they were saying, but he could glean enough from the body language. Mayrbek, preening in the extreme, was hitting on Talia and she didn't seem particularly enthused. Smiling secretly to himself, Barry lollygagged, pretending to be particularly absorbed in his crudite when Hank materialized at his side. "Oh. Hey."

"Hey man." Grin boundless, Hank held up his plate proudly. "So...how are you enjoying the treats?"

"Yeah. Very good. Thanks, Hank." Attention drifting back to Mayrbek and Talia, she must've expressed her disinterest because Mayrbek crossed his arms, expression hurt.

Hank followed Barry's eye line with a sigh. "Ah. Yes. Mayrbek. He really should be giving it up at this point." Scooping a forkful into his mouth, Hank shook his head. "He is not the type for Talia. And she doesn’t appreciate a man who will not listen when she says ‘no.’"

_ Apparently not. _ Talia hopped to her feet, music of her voice veering into heavy metal and hands fisted at her sides, biting off an angry string of Chechen inches from Mayrbek’s young face. Sneering, Mayrbek pointed under her chin, yelling one loud, indefinable word that caused Hank to drop his plate, lunch skittering into the sand as he took a step forward.

But Talia cracked a palm across Mayrbek’s cheek, knocking him off kilter and berating him furiously, so Hank retreated with a nod. “Hank, what…?” Barry furrowed his dark brows, looking from Talia pummeling Mayrbek back to Hank’s righteous expression. “What did he say?”

“Well, there is no direct translation, exactly. But I do not say these things about women. In Chechen or in English.”

“Oh yeah?” Six point earthquake rocking the contents of his plate, Barry’s nose flared. “Can you give me an idea?”

Hank eyed him warily. “Yes, but...remember. Barry. Is just a word. And Talia…” Flicking a wrist in the direction of a wincing Mayrbek slouching off in defeat, Hank lifted his bald brow. “Can take care of herself, yes?”

“I know that.” Sculpted jawline popping, Barry nodded. Perhaps he should be mildly concerned his attraction to Talia was so transparent, but in that moment Barry didn’t care. “Just tell me.”

“Well the closest thing in English…” Bearing his teeth, Hank inhaled a hiss. “Is a word I prefer not to say. But it begins with a ‘C.’”

A hot pulse of wrath swept Barry’s pallid flesh, big hand instinctively twitching toward his gun.  _ No. Count. Now. One. Two. Three…  _

Barry used the numbers to soothe his breathing, commanding air into his lungs. “Okay.” Voice still trembling as an unoccupied Talia resumed her seat, Barry puffed out his cheeks and held his food aloft. “Thanks, Hank. For lunch.”

“Not a problem, Barry. I’m sure you will have better luck than Mayrbek.” Mentioning his name was like stepping on a live wire and by the time Barry made it to Talia, he reached 57, but his heart thrummed ceaselessly in his built chest.

“Hey.” Though thankful the scowl on her face couldn’t be attributed to his presence, Barry wished there weren’t a reason for it to exist in the first place as he bent down. “Hey, so, um...I don’t want to bother you if you want to be alone, but...I think I thought of a good one.”

Barry tapped the top of Talia’s phone with a grin. “A good what?”

“Pair.” Shrugging his broad shoulders, Barry bit his pink lip. “Of actors. For your game.”

“Oh yes?” Always eager to one up Irina back in Chechnya, Talia lifted a brow. “Who are you thinking of?”

Smiling as though he were holding back the juiciest of secrets, Barry held up a palm. “Okay. How about...Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman?”

Talia’s almost obnoxious laughter rang out and she folded forward. “Barry, you are not serious?”

“What?” Barry blinked, lowering his lunch-laden arm and despondent. “I thought...that would be a good one…”

“Barry…” Combing back her auburn locks and doing what she could to reel in her mirth, Talia shook her head. “These two...they are both in  _ The Bucket List _ together. They have no degrees of separation. See? Much too easy.”

“Oh…” Shelf of his shoulders breaking, Barry mumbled. “I...I haven’t seen that one…”

Talia chuckled and patted the adjacent patch of ground. “Apparently not. Sit.”

Barry crossed his legs and plopped down. “So, um...I’m sorry to ask. Especially after all that, but…” Glancing over his vast shoulder at Mayrbek, Barry pulled a face. “But...maybe you’d let me take you to a movie sometime? Educate me a little?”

Mouth tight, Talia examined Barry’s hopeful, earnest expression and sighed. “I’m sorry, Barry, but I do not think this is such a good idea.”

“Alright.” Nodding, Barry scooped up a bite of caprese, silent for a moment. He continued, voice soft, searching. “Is it okay if I ask why?”

Talia observed Barry’s relaxed posture, his tender quizzicality, so different from that of the violently persistent Mayrbek.  _ This is a real man. Damn…  _ “Well, Barry…because...you say you want to be an actor, yes?” Barry nodded and Talia proceeded. “Well, I…” Hand to her chest, Talia looked ravenously over their obstacle course. “Want this. Your work. But the Chechen men, they…” Shaking her head sadly, Talia picked up a tiny tart in annoyance. “They do not allow such things.”

“Oh.” Frowning, Barry narrowed his dark blue eyes. “They really won’t let you work? Just 

because you’re a woman?”

Talia sighed heavily. “No. My father, he is…” For a moment Talia seemed far away from him, unfocused, lost. Barry thought maybe he knew the room Talia entered in the quiet. Those drab walls trapped him more times than he liked to remember. “A very powerful man. Back in Chechnya. If one of the others were to report back to him, tell him I’m getting out of the line. It would be…” Jaw setting, Talia shifted uncomfortably. “Very bad for me. So...the most I’m allowed to do is pick ups on occasion. Otherwise, not much.”

“Oh Talia, that’s…” Shaking his head, Barry exhaled audibly. “I’m sorry. That must be frustrating when you’re so talented.”

“Thank you. Yes.” Talia chomped down vengefully on a corner of sandwich. “It is.”

As Talia ate, Barry hid his lips away, fingers picking among the offerings on his plate. Eyes downcast, he murmured gently. “You know, if, um...if you are interested...besides that.” Swallowing, Barry poked uselessly at a knish. “I...wouldn’t try to stop you. Or tell you to get out or...or anything.”

Talia hesitated before her hand squeezed Barry’s carved forearm. “I know this, Barry. You seem like a very good man. But…” Shaking her head, Talia leaned back against the car door and retracted her touch. “I do not see how it would work. What if you become famous? How will you explain your girlfriend is a Chechen want-to-be assassin?”

A fit of giggles drowned Barry, swaying back and forth on the ground as he slapped his thick thigh. Talia couldn’t help but mirror his mirth, drinking in Barry’s shrinking left eye and his overbite, stomach fluttering when he covered a snort. “Oh Talia, that’s...that’s nice of you, but…” Barry blinked himself back to composure. “Trust me. That’s not going to happen. There’s no way I’ll ever be famous.”

“But you are so handsome?” Talia stated it as though it were an undeniable fact and she tilted her head at Barry as if he were crazy. The idea that she believed in him that much, based solely on his looks, left Barry flushed. “Surely you will succeed.”

Giggling, Barry brought a hand to his cheek, then passed it off as a scratch at his stubble. “Oh that’s...that’s kind of you. But...really. It...it’s going to take a lot more than that. Almost no one makes it. But,” Barry shrugged with a warm smile. “I’m going to try, at least.”

“And I want you to try without worries, Barry.” Flapping her hand around them Talia shook her head. “This? You do not need this if you can make another life. So…” Talia nodded, more to herself than Barry. “Friends is better, I think.”

“Okay.” Barry grinned, bobbing his head. “Friends.”

Talia bit her lip and reached into her pocket apprehensively. “I could give you my number, though…” Barry’s cobalt eyes lifted and Talia held up a palm. “Just for the game, you understand. For how are you going to become world’s greatest actor if you know nothing about movies?”

“Alright.” Chuckling, Barry took out his phone. “That’s fair.” They exchanged numbers, Barry thanking Talia and making his goodbye after they finished lunch.

Half of the guys beat on dummies consisting of pillows duct taped to posts while the others continued target practice. Grinding his rounded teeth, Barry swore he tasted powder as he glowered at Mayrbek, bent over his M14. Barry tried reminding himself of Hank’s warning.  _ It is just a word. Talia can take care of herself.  _

But when the watermelon exploded at the end of the range, so did Barry. Surrounded by buddies congratulating him, Barry heard none of their words of praise to Mayrbek, huge hands forming fists and light vanishing from his blue eyes. Retrieving his glock, Barry marched up to Mayrbek, firing a round an inch from his ear. “What do you think this is, some kind of fucking game? Huh?” Barry shook the round-faced boy who gaped at him in alarm, shouting, unable to say the things roiling in his heart. “You lose your focus, you give the other guy a chance to fire, you’re dead! Kill!” Prodding Mayrbek’s forehead viciously, Barry’s voice fell in resignation. “That’s the only word I want in your fucking head. Kill.”

Agog, Talia watched Barry storm off. Talia knew she should probably find Barry’s protective behavior distasteful. Boorish, even. Knew she would never be the type of woman to need a man to come to her rescue. Not Barry. Not anyone. 

Talia’s brain knew these facts. But it failed to communicate them to the slickness 

between her thighs as Barry’s flinty screams echoed in her mind. As Talia witnessed his expression, absolutely feral, his left eye twitching as Barry resumed his position of dominance, pink lip a snarl, crisp jaw flashing in warning as he glared at Mayrbek with utmost loathing, she shivered.

Day winding to a close, Mayrbek’s constant need to shout, “ _ What _ ?” filled Barry with a glowing satisfaction as the man skirted him with offcast eyes.

Hands in her back pockets, Talia strolled up to Barry, fighting to contain her smirk. “Mayrbek. He’s terrified of you.”

“Yeah, well…” Nostrils wide, Barry cut his gaze to the younger man flitting back to an SUV. 

“Is not surprising.” Talia tilted her head with a sigh. “He always was a coward. Even tried to get his friend to pass me a note once.” Chuckling, Talia rolled her eyes. “As if we are school children. Though I admit, he does have some skill with a gun.”

Barry shrugged in reluctant acquiescence. “Well, you sure deserve better than a guy like that.”

“Yes, I suppose this is true.” The leaves of Talia’s eyes floated away from Barry’s chiseled features, alighting on the ground with forlorn acceptance. “Okay. Well, it was good to see you today, Barry. You did a very good job.”

“Thanks.” Beaming, Barry waved as Talia walked backwards to Hank’s car. “Will you be back next week?”

Talia nodded as she opened the door. “Yes. I will see you then.” Stopping with one foot inside, she raised a shoulder. “You could text me before. If you want. For the game.”

“Okay.” Barry bobbed his head, putting his hands in his pockets. “I will. Bye, Talia.”

Fingers wiggling at him from behind the windshield, Talia mouthed a silent  _ ‘Goodbye Barry’ _ while peering up through her eyelashes. A motion so devastatingly erotic Hank needed to flap an arm through the window, motioning for Barry to move so he could drive off. Watching the car disappear over the horizon before he retrieved his keys, Barry sighed.  _ Damn… _


	2. 2

Forcing himself to wait a full day, Barry spent an inordinate amount of time composing his first text to Talia, considering its simplicity.

Barry:  _ Hey Talia, it’s Barry. How are you doing? _

Relieved when the replying dots appeared less than a minute later, Barry smiled as his phone buzzed in his hand.

Talia:  _ Hello Barry. Right now I am baking with Hank. Though not looking forward to serving the others. How are you? _

_ Jeez, she has to serve them? What the hell? _ Thumbs flying, Barry frowned.

Barry:  _ Oh, that sucks that you have to wait on them. I hope they’re nice about it, at least. What are you making? _

Talia:  _ They are not. Russian chocolate salami. _

Barry:  _ That sounds...interesting _ .

A picture came through of several slices of what really did look to Barry to be salami,  along with a caption. 

Talia:  _ Delicious. And no need to put in the oven. Pieces of cookie and nuts rolled together with other ingredients and sliced to look like salami. _

Barry:  _ Yum. I’m allergic to nuts though, so none for me. _

Talia:  _ Really? I would not have thought you so easy to kill. _

Barry:  _ Ha, yeah. One peanut and I’m a goner. _

Talia: _ I will keep that in mind. Would you like to play the game? _

Barry:  _ Sure _ . 

Talia:  _ Okay. I will give you an easy one first. Alec Baldwin to Cameron Diaz. _

Prominent brows knit and lower lip poking out, Barry tapped the top of his phone for a couple of minutes. Coming up blank, he opened Google when a text radiated through his fingers.

Talia:  _ You cannot use the internet. That’s cheating. _

_ How did she know?  _ Barry chuckled, shaking his head.

Barry:  _ Alright. I give up. I don’t think I can connect them. _

Talia:  _ Alec Baldwin was in  _ Glengarry Glen Ross  _ with Al Pacino _

_ Who was in  _ Heat _ with Robert DeNiro _

_ Who was in  _ Meet the Parents  _ with Ben Stiller _

_ Who was in  _ There’s Something About Mary _ with Cameron Diaz. _

_ Boom. _

Barry:  _ Okay, no fair. You already had that figured out. _

Talia:  _ Nope. I’m just very good at this game. Go ahead. Give me anyone. _

Pondering for a moment, Barry smirked wickedly.

Barry:  _ Alright then. How about Samuel L. Jackson and Christian Slater? _

Certain he stumped her, Barry’s eyes widened when Talia returned less than two minutes later.

Talia:  _ Easy. Samuel L. Jackson was in  _ The Hateful Eight _ (and many others) with Quentin Tarantino _

_ Who worked on  _ Sin City _ with Mickey Rourke _

_ Who was in  _ The Wrestler  _ with Marisa Tomei _

_ Who was in  _ Untamed Heart  _ with Christian Slater _

_ You will have to try harder than that to defeat me, Barold. _

Barry:  _ What? _

Talia:  _ What? I’m sorry, did I say something confusing? Sometimes my English is not so great. _

Barry:  _ No, your English is excellent. But who’s Barold? _

Talia:  _...is that not what Barry stands for? _

Giggles flooding his room, Barry flipped over on his mattress, perched on his e lbows. Barry entered, ‘No’ Tagging the text with a laughing emoji, and started to type  _ ‘but it’s cute you thought that _ ’ before immediately erasing the words, wanting to be respectful of Talia’s boundaries.

Barry:  _ No. Just plain old Barry.  _

Talia:  _ There is nothing plain about you, Barry. _

Twinge in his firm chest, Barry couldn’t decide how to respond, and as he pondered, his phone vibrated.

Talia:  _ Unfortunately I must get back to being unpaid waitress. It’s been good talking to you Barry. I hope this night finds you well. _

Barry:  _ Thanks Talia. It was nice chatting with you, too. If those jerks give you any trouble, kick them in the head. _

Talia:  _ Oh how I wish. Goodnight, Barry. _

Barry:  _ Night, Talia. _

When Barry turned in later, he tried to usher away thoughts of Talia. But like mischief-driven teenagers, they snuck beneath the ropes of his mind and the images played unbidden. Bringing Talia to the movies, her cacophonous laugh booming in the theater while she introduced Barry to film after film he should definitely have seen by now. Useless in the kitchen himself, Talia teaching him how to cook. Maybe something simple. As a complete novice, Barry couldn’t even hazard a guess as to what, but he knew without a doubt her instruction would be straightforward, brusque, yet kind and informative. And the results would be delectable. Perhaps the most intriguing fantasy came when Barry thought about what might happen if he were to introduce Talia to the acting class.

Picturing one of his fellow students, maybe Nick, since he refused to do the dishes earlier even after Barry kindly picked up his Gatorade from the store; making the poor choice of asking Talia for stage combat tips, Barry laughed uncontrollably in the darkness.

Falling quiet, a truth dawned on Barry. That’s what Talia helped him do. Laugh in the darkness. Sure, she came with a razor’s edge and a family that might be...intimidating. But after a lifetime of running from the spectre haunting his every step, finding someone who granted Barry permission to spin on his heel, smile, and boast a ‘HA!’ into the leering, shrouded skull, was invaluable. And as Barry fought for comfort beneath his sheets, the urge for Talia’s tattooed flesh left him yearning.

***

Pain. Edges of his vision hazy as Barry blinked, every fiber of his being protested. Hanging up on Loach, Barry let his weary arm fall, whispering to himself. “Fuck you, Loach.” After the mind-melting ordeal with Ronny and the creature he could barely fathom to be Lily, Barry found himself devoid of patience.

The click of Fuches’ SUV hazard lights echoed the throbbing in his skull and Barry held his phone before unfocused eyes. Scrolling, Barry licked his cracked lips. Tasted copper. 

Phone buzzing in her hand, Talia lifted an uncertain brow when she saw Barry’s name pop up, tucking herself away in the kitchen. “Hello?”

“Hey...hey Talia. It’s, um...it’s Barry.” Voice slurred and fading in and out, Talia rolled her eyes.  _ Great. Another guy calling me when he is drunk. Exactly what I need.  _ Barry didn’t seem like the type, but Talia worried he was about to make her seriously regret giving out her number.

Not in the mood for games, Talia sighed heavily. “Barry, have you been drinking?”

“No...no, I’m bleeding…”

“Wait, what?” The smoke lifted from Talia’s tone, revealing jagged peaks of shrill worry. “Barry, did you say you are bleeding? What is happening?”

Swallowing, Barry shook his head, peering through the store window at Fuches’ bobbing form. “I don’t know why I’m calling you…”

“Barry, do not worry about that now. What happened? Where are you?” Talia snatched up her jacket and the keys, Hank looking after her in concern. Pointing to her phone, she mouthed  _ ‘Barry’ _ and Hank nodded. “Tell me. Now.”

“I...I got stabbed. I’m at…” The letters swam before his vision and Barry pulled his head back. “Fields Market.”

Talia unlocked Hank’s car and flipped the ignition. “I will be there as fast as possible. Are you in any further danger, Barry?”

“No, I don’t think so...but Talia, you don’t need to come here. I just wanted to hear y--”

“Quiet, Barry. You need your strength. I am on my way.” Throwing her phone into the passenger seat, Talia peeled away with a screech.

_ What the fuck?  _ Customers rushing out of the store, Talia rolled to a stop in the parking lot. Talia tried Barry’s cell. No answer. Exiting the car with the phone to her ear, once again the cheery,  _ ‘Hello, you’ve reached Barry Block… _ ’ floated over the line.  _ Huh...I thought Hank said his last name was Berkman… _

“Barry, you fucking idiot!” A voice blared and Talia dropped her arm, following the sound to see a man apparently wrestling with the steering wheel of his car. Temper roaring at his words, Talia stormed forward, until the sight in the window redirected her path.

_ Barry _ . Dodging a large, angry man in a neck brace and ducking through the aisles.  _ Shit… _

Talia crouched, scuttling to the door and grateful Barry’s hulking opponent didn’t notice their automatic slide as she slipped through. A police siren wailed outside, Talia peeking over the edge of the window before she snuck up behind the mountainous man in green.

In his shock Barry almost gave Talia away, lowering his arms and gawking as she held a finger to her lips and inched forward. 

Booted heel kicking scorpion-like into Ronny’s kidney, he doubled back with a groan and Barry looped around the aisle, beckoning to Talia in Ronny’s distraction. “Come on. Let’s g--” Loach burst through the door and Barry hastily shielded Talia behind his broad frame, hissing. “Cops! Run!”

Talia slunk down, hiding behind a shelf. A bullet pierced Ronny’s face and he fell back, Barry dropping and breathing a sigh of relief as Loach rounded the corner. “Let me just go out the back.”

“Sir, drop your weapon!” Every muscle in her body tensing as the officer yelled, Talia started to move when panic entered Barry’s voice.

“What are you doing?” Barry elbowed backward, man advancing with gun drawn as Talia silently circled the aisle.

“I said drop your weapon! Stop!” 

The man fired a round and Talia popped up in terror, breath held until she witnessed Barry’s scrambling form, heard his high, frightened confusion. “Shit, what the fuck are you doing? Loach!”

“I said stop!” Roundhouse kick twisting Loach’s head with a sickening crunch, his body thunked to the floor and Talia hauled Barry to his feet.

“Come on!” With a fearful glance back, Talia’s breath froze in her lungs at the police swarming the building. “We must go!”

Half dragging a limping Barry out of the back, Talia slowed her pace as they neared the fence, trying to make their progress appear natural, carefree. “Talia, he…” Barry leaned in, looking over his broad shoulder to the store. “He was a cop…”

“Do not worry about that now, Barry. Just come.” A car honked ahead and Talia narrowed her gaze, doubling her grip around Barry’s love handles. “Barry, do...this man was screaming your name outside before. Do you know him?”

Unenthused, Barry nodded. “Yeah…” 

Sneaking past the line of cop cars, Fuches called out. “Barry, what the fuck are you doing? Get in the car! Who is she?” Fuches looked at Talia suspiciously. “C’mon. Barry, buddy. We gotta go!”

“Barry…” Voice dry and dangerous, Talia’s fingers tightened about his waist. “Do you wish to go with this man?”

Barry stared into the gray wasteland of Fuches eyes, the scene of countless deals  passed, grinning manipulations, and back-patting coercions. “No.” Jaw clenched, Barry shook his head. “I don’t.”

“Come…” Talia began to guide him when Fuches let out a noise of dismay.

“Barry, what the fuck? Where are you going? You still haven’t told me who this bi--”

Talia growled. Actually fucking  _ growled _ at Fuches, and Barry swore he heard the skin of his hands tear as he retracted in horror and tried to escape backward from the superglued steering wheel. “You know what? Fuck this.” Fuches looked over his shoulder before maneuvering the gear shift with an elbow. “I’ve dealt with enough crazy people today. I’m done. Good luck, Barry.”

Ushering Barry to Hank’s car, Talia opened the passenger side and carefully folded his tall frame inside before jogging around. Talia pulled away at an exceptionally reasonable speed, emerald eyes darting nervously from Barry to the rearview mirror. “Barry, where are you cut?” 

Barry leaned against the door, adrenaline leaking into the seat and leaving his limbs heavy and useless. “My back…” Swallowing, Barry lifted a hand, intending to remove the hood from his head, but the fingers flopped down into his lap. “It’s bad. I...Talia, I think I need to go to a hospital.”

“Barry, let me…” Pulling off onto a side street, Talia flipped on the overhead light. “Let me take a look.” 

“Okay.” Barry tried raising his shirt, but the fabric stopped halfway.

Talia frowned, tugging, and an unholy scream breached Barry’s pink lips. “Oh no! Barry! I am so sorry!” Combing her fingers tenderly through his chestnut hair, Talia waited for Barry to catch a breath. “What...why is your shirt stuck to you?”

“Fuck, it’s…” Open mouthed panting with his eyes closed, Barry shook his head. “It’s super glue. Fuck...I forgot.  _ Fuck… _ ”

“Super...glue?” Examining his back, Talia arched a quizzical brow. “Why would you do this, Barry?”

Nauseous and world squiggly, Barry could barely comprehend Talia’s questions, much less summon the will to respond. “I didn’t. Fuches. Just...hospital.”

Talia pinched the back collar of Barry’s shirt, peeking down, before delicately doing the same from the bottom. “Barry, I think it’s better if I take care of this.”

“But...hospital.” Words barely eking out in his exhaustion, it took Barry a minute to understand why the brown waves of his hair were rolling when no breeze issued through the closed car window. 

Talia’s fingers. Tender oars composed of worry, whispered over his scalp as she drove. “Barry...if I take you to the hospital, they will ask questions. How you were injured. Who did this thing to you. Where you were. They also may be searching just now for a man who looks like you. So for you to arrive in this condition would be very suspicious. Please, Barry. I can handle this. Trust me.”

“Okay, Talia…” Syllables passing through the halls of his teeth like lingering spirits, Barry lost the rumble of the engine, the shallow breathing of Talia beside him, the tremor of the vehicle beneath his damaged body, as the world became nothing. “Okay...I trust you.”

“Barry! Solntse! Are you with me?” 

A palm urgently tapped his sandpaper cheek and Barry snorted to consciousness. “What?” 

Talia gnawed her lip, concerned about the severity of Barry’s concussion. Though she could address his flesh wounds, that would be out of the realm of her expertise. “Barry, did he hit you in the head? That man in the store?”

“I...yeah. Some. He...Fuck. Ronny. Tae Kwon Do…” Muttering, Barry pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to lower the volume on the buzzing in his brain, and instantly regretted it when he discovered the soreness. “And his daughter...Fuck. She stabbed me…”

Foot riding the gas pedal in her anxiety, Talia restrained herself, not eager to deal with a traffic violation in the midst of everything else. “That is awful, Barry. Was she also trained in the martial arts like her father? She must have been very skilled. I bet she learned from a young age.”

“She was young.” Barry leaned back, remembered his wound, and slumped forward again.

“Oh yes?” Rounding the final turn, Talia slowed at a stoplight. “What? Like twenty? I am sure she was vicious if you were attacking her father.”

Resigned sigh puffing from his firm chest, Barry drudged his head from side to side. “No. Like ten. Maybe eleven. Just this…” Barry held a palm in midair, wobbling parallel to the floor. “Little girl. She was like a feral mongoose…”

_ Oh no… He is delusional with his injuries.  _ Parking in front of her building, Talia dashed around to retrieve Barry, looping one of his strong arms over her neck and crab walking him to the front door.

Once they crossed the threshold of her apartment, stopping a couple of times so Barry could breathe on the stairs, Talia deposited him in a kitchen chair. Barry melted over the tabletop, a vague inkling informing him he sat within Talia’s home and the noises of her rifling somewhere, through something, off to his left, tickled Barry’s joined ear.

“You…” Lick lips. Taste blood. “You live here?”

Fingertips prying his eyes open. Barry shook them off like unwanted gnats at first, until they exposed a pale mask of concern surrounded by a halo of crimson. “Yes.” 

Both pupils waiting for Talia were the same size and surrounded by steady, albeit tired, sapphire eyes. “This is where I live. Now Barry. Drink this.” 

A glass of water in his hand.  _ How did that get there? Oh...right.  _ Pounding the fluid down his parched throat, Barry nodded. “Thank you.”

Barry watched as Talia cleared off a stack of mail, a notebook, a pair of hand grips, and a porcelain figurine he hardly glimpsed, but Barry thought it might’ve been an octopus, before she smacked the bare wooden surface of her table. “Okay. Lay down now.”

“Alright.” Commanding his feet, to tell his knees, to tell his thighs that they all needed to work together enough to stand, turned out to be an incredibly arduous process and before Barry could crawl onto the table, Talia touched his arm.

“Wait.” Talia pulled open a draw and grabbed a pair of scissors. “Hang on.” Unzipping Barry’s black hoodie, Talia helped him cast the garment aside. “Okay, now...be still, Barry.” Talia pulled the hemline of his gray t-shirt away, cutting upward carefully until she revealed his little belly and fluffy dark chest hair. 

Barry twisted his head to the side as Talia sliced through the blood stained collar, before slipping the blades beneath the sleeves and working toward his shoulder, leaving the shards of fabric fused uncomfortably to his back, but Barry otherwise exposed.

“Okay.” Trying not to stare, Talia tapped the table again. “Now you are good. Just give me a few minutes to get things together. Here…” 

Barry spread himself over the surface in some semblance of comfort as his long legs dangled off the edge before Talia thrust another glass of water at him. “I will return soon.”

Chittering in Chechen. Items clattering. Scrape of chair legs. None of these registered especially well for Barry until fingers pranced once more through the brunette field of his hair and his deep blue eyes fluttered open. “Hmm?”

“Barry, I am going to start removing the shirt now.” Beautiful face ringed in light, Talia appeared angelic as she bent over him and Barry nodded. “This may take a long time. I do not think it will hurt too much in the beginning until I get closer to the cut. Would you like something to eat while I work?”

“Mmhmm…” Grin wide and crooked, Barry’s sleepy head nudged itself catlike into her touch and Talia couldn’t reist cupping his sharp jaw for half a second before going to the fridge.

Barry blinked as an enticing smell invaded his nostrils. “Here you are, Barry. This is--”

“Goulash.” Coming up on one elbow, Barry took the fork from the bowl resting before him on the table. “Mmm...thanks.”

Mouth agape, Talia put her hands on her hips in a gesture so uncharacteristic it almost made Barry choke around his mouthful in laughter. “How is it you know this word?”

“Oh, I ate this all the time growing up.” Barry shoveled another bite between his pink lips. “It’s really popular in the Midwest.”

Nodding in amazement, Talia put her hair up in a ponytail before going to the sink to wash her hands. “Huh. Well, it is Hungarian, actually, but... One of my favorites. I make it often.”

“It’s delicious, thank you.” Barry swallowed a hint of humanity back into himself as Talia dried off, snapping a pair of medical gloves over her wrists.

Grabbing a bottle of nail polish remover and q-tips, Talia scooted her chair in next to Barry. “Of course.”

Itty bitty brushes and tugs. Over and over. Talia’s wrists snailing forward as she dipped, dabbed, dipped, dabbed into the cup of acetone, applying along the seam created by Barry’s pale skin and the gray shirt, teasing apart the fibers of glue. 

Finishing his meal, though the urge to sleep prodded, Barry found himself somewhat refreshed. Not wanting to bother Talia as she worked, he craned his neck back as subtly as possible, Talia’s expression one of thoughtful determination in his periphery.

The buzzer sounded and Barry jumped. Talia didn’t. Discarding her gloves, she pushed the button and within a minute the bald, beaming visage of Hank bopped through the doorway. “Hey you guys!” Bag under his arm, Hank’s jubilant tone ringing out into the previously soothing room jarred Barry. “How’s it going?”

Barry mumbled something half intelligible and Hank frowned at the bloody shirt adhered to his back. Leaning into Talia, Hank lowered his voice and they began speaking to one another in Chechen. “What happened to him?”

“He was stabbed. And attacked. I found him in a grocery store in the West Hills.” Talia looked into Hank’s offering, withdrawing the prescriptions and examining the labels. “The shirt is glued to his skin.”

“Glued?” Hank arched a blank brow and Talia nodded. Hissing through clenched teeth, Hank winced. “Ouch. That’s awful. But…” Sticking out his lower lip, Hank elbowed Talia. “At least he had to take his shirt off, right? Sexy…”

Rolling her eyes, Talia refilled a glass of water for Barry. “I can’t believe you’re thinking about how hot he is right now when the man is lying there half dead.”

“But Talia…” Hank flung a wrist to Barry and chuckled. “How can you not? So hot, am I right?” 

Talia pinched Hank’s cheek and grinned. “You are incorrigible. Yes. Fine. Now go. So I may put this sexy man back together again before he bleeds all over my nice, clean table.”

“Fine, I’ll leave you two alone…” Smirking, Hank teasingly poked Talia’s belly and she scoffed, corralling him towards the door.

Hank switched back to English and waved a cordial hand to Barry. “Goodbye Barry, hope you are feeling better soon. I’m quite sure…” Smiling mischievously, Hank’s bald brow wiggled. “Talia will be taking very good care of you.”

“Ughhh...just go, Hank. Thank you.” Talia knuckled his bare scalp and Hank chuckled on his way out. “Okay, here…” Approaching, Talia tapped two pills into Barry’s palm. “Take this.”

Barry eyed the tiny white ovals guardedly. “What are these?”

“For pain.” Talia nudged the water glass toward Barry. “Trust me. You will be glad of them for this next part.” 

Tossing them back, Barry swallowed as Talia scrubbed her hands once more. “Hey, so…” Barry looked to the door, prominent brows gathered. “What was that word you and Hank kept using? It sounded like…’shoosterlee’ or something?”

Talia froze. Extinguishing the faucet with her elbow, Talia cleared her throat. “It means…’sexy.’”

Observing as blotches of pink invaded the stalwart shores of her pale face, Barry grinned as Talia strode back to her chair, eyes hidden while she donned a fresh pair of gloves. “Oh yeah? And...why was Hank pointing at me, then?”

“Hank has crush on you. You know this. It’s not a surprise for you, Barry.” Speaking too quickly, Talia submerged a swab in the acetone. “Now lay down, I need to continue so--”

But Barry kept staring at her, knowing smirk breaking over his face. “Oh Hank, huh?” Giggling, Barry folded his pink lips under and settled back down. Barry rested his square chin on his crossed arms while Talia leaned into the massacre on his back once more, addressing his words to her kitchen. “Maybe Hank should tell me. If he feels that way…”

The movement over Barry’s skin stopped. “Hank would…” Talia swallowed, shifting in her chair. “But...Hank could not do such a thing, Barry. It would be foolish.”

“Maybe, but…” With only part of his face visible over the cliff of his shoulder, skin gray with exhaustion and blue eyes dragging with yearning, Talia’s innards clenched as Barry spoke. “Aren’t some foolish things worth the risk? Y-Hank could say it. If he wanted to…”

Talia focused on the actions of her hands. “Hank would say many things to Barry…” Reaching the sliced edge of angry flesh, Talia shook her head. “But now is not the time. Barry...I fear you will hate me by the time we are finished. I must warn you. The pain will be very great. I would not usually suggest such a thing but…” Talia took a deep breath, eyeing her refrigerator. “Would you like some vodka? It is unwise to mix pills and alcohol, but this...this will be brutal.”

“No thanks.” Barry smiled. Extending a large hand, he let his fingertips whisper below the cuff of her glove. “And I could never hate you, Talia.”

Teeth set, Talia exhaled slowly. “You say this now, Barry… Okay. We begin. Let me know if you need a break. It...it will sting.”

The first licks of the swab on the outer rim as Talia encouraged his shirt away from the gash smarted a bit, and Barry grimaced, but overall it wasn’t terrible.

“Fuck!” A whip crack of acidic fire laid to the right of his spine as Talia laced the acetone over the exposed, raw flesh. 

“I am sorry.” Barry gripped the edge of the table with white knuckles and Talia shook her head, red brows knit and swallowing. “Barry, I am so sorry. I will work quickly. Please...hang on.”

“Okay...okay…” Barry licked his lips and tucked his head down. “Keep going. I’m fine…”

Talia knew Barry was likely trying to convince himself as much as her before she continued, every muscle in his broad back flexing in agony as she placed strips of burning torture down and peeled away the fastened fabric. “Almost done, Barry. Almost there.”

Breath condensing on the tabletop beneath him, Barry resented the mist in his dark blue eyes as his tall frame trembled outside of his control. “Okay…” Voice high and tight, Barry wanted to tell her to stop, but he knew he would never be able to bring himself to start the process over again if he took a break now. “Okay...It’s...I’m okay…”

Forearms holding him firm as she moved rapidly, Talia swept a wrist past to clear her vision, hoping the strangled tone of her voice didn’t betray her woe for the shattered man under her care. “Last bit. Last part now, Barry.”

Shirt coming free, Talia sat back and blinked at the ceiling. Massaging Barry’s shoulder as shocks continued coursing through him, rivulets trickled down her cheeks. “That part is done. Now I will clean it.”

“Can I, um…” One eye, an ocean of anguish surrounded by a red reef of shame, peeked up at Talia. “Could I maybe have some of that vodka now, actually?”

“Of course.” Lacing her fingers through his dark locks, Talia hesitated before pecking the briefest of kisses to Barry’s temple. 

Spot where her lips touched burning almost as much as his back, Barry rose to his elbows as Talia returned with a chilled bottle and handed him a shot glass. “Here.” Filling to the brim, she smiled, but Barry noticed dew clinging to her long eyelashes. “Drink.” Tossing back the alcohol with a gasp, Barry blinked and Talia held out the bottle. “More?”

“Yeah. Just...just one more, I think.”

Talia nodded and topped him off. “Okay. Here…” After replacing the liquor in the fridge, Talia returned to him with a pot of warm water and a washcloth. “Let me clean this while we are having a break.”

Taking his sculpted jaw in hand, Talia knew Barry could do this part himself as she gently wiped the flaking blood from beneath his strong chin. She suspected Barry knew, too, but he simply smiled, allowing her to take her time and clear the day’s miseries from his face.

“Do you think your nose is broken?” Talia asked as she nudged beneath the right nostril. 

Pinching the bridge, Barry shook his head. “No. I mean, he clocked me pretty good and it hurts like hell. But I think it’s fine.”

“That is good. Because if you want to be an actor…” Folding her lips under to smother her chuckle, a twinkle lurked in Talia’s emerald gaze. “You do not need another mismatched thing on your face…”

Barry’s mouth dropped incredulously. “Excuse me?” Tilting his head, Barry pursed his lips. “What are you trying to say?”

“Well… Barry…” Tracing his brow, Talia bit her lip. “Your left eye...is smaller. You know this, I’m sure.”

With an aggrieved sigh, Barry’s eyes rolled beneath Talia’s touch. “Yeah. I hate it.”

“No.” Thumb polishing his cheekbone, Talia leaned forward. Stopped herself. “It is...very cute. Especially…” Arm retracting, Talia grinned sadly as she stepped back. “Especially when you laugh. Sorry. I should not have said anything, Barry. That was rude.”

“It’s okay.” Chuckling, Barry shook his head. “I don’t mind.”

Sighing, Talia picked up the vodka and replaced the bottle in the fridge. “I would join you but...a drunk nurse would be a very bad idea.”

“Yeah, but...” Returning the empty glass to Talia, Barry shuffled back down onto the table. “I bet you’re a fun drunk.”

A smile played over Talia’s face as she dumped out the pot, running warm water inside before washing her hands once more. “I, well...when I am drinking, I...I very much like to…” Shrugging shyly, Talia came around and hid behind Barry, picking up a clean washcloth. “Dance.”

“What?” Barry chuckled, looking over his broad shoulder before Talia squeezed out the cloth. “Really?”

“Yes, I…” With tiny, even circles, Talia worked from the outside in to clear the dried blood, ringing out raindrops of red as she traveled toward the valley in the center. “I love to dance.”

“Mmm…” Warmth and movement consoling, a heady amusement floated over Barry as the room swam, anchoring himself with closed eyes. “I...I bet you’re a good dancer.”

Turning the water bright crimson, Talia attacked a particularly thick patch of rust with thoughtful rubs. “Some might say this, I suppose. I have never seen myself. I do not know.”

Barry hummed delightedly beneath her ministrations, the deep, erotic tone rumbling through his solid chest causing an eruption of goosebumps over Talia’s wan flesh. “Mmm...yeah. I wanna see you dance. Sexy…”

Talia stifled a laugh.  _ The poor fellow has lost his filter.  _ Apparently oblivious as Talia zeroed in toward the tender wound, Barry mumbled. “Yeah...that’d be hot...I can’t dance…” As he slurred, Barry’s voice transformed from a nasal flint to a directionless molasses, enveloping any ridiculosity his brain might hazard upon. “I would try though. If you want…” Barry nodded to himself, unsure why someone was petting his back. Why it hurt so badly. “Just show me, Talia…Teach me the steps. I’ll...I’ll figure it out…”

Barry fell quiet, his breathing becoming slow and deep. Smiling, Talia worked gingerly, clearing away the mess before preparing the needle and sutures. 

A giggle from Barry almost caused her to gouge his pallid skin and Talia jumped back in alarm. “Barold…” Inebriated and barely audible, Barry laughed to himself before descending back into the darkness. “You thought I was named ‘Barold.’ I love that. So funny…Talia...” 


	3. 3

Barry groaned. The skin of his back was extraordinarily tight, as though he purchased a human suit three sizes too small. “Fuck…” 

Gummy eyes witnessed an auburn topped blur who shook his broad shoulder. “Barry…” Talia whispered, scrunching her fingers through his dark hair. “We are all done. Come. Lay down. Sleeping on a table is no good.”

With a nod and a sigh, as Barry sat up robotically, every gear within grinding, protesting as his limbs expelled effort to get him upright. “Fuck…”

“In a couple of hours, you can have more pills.” Talia consoled him, holding out a glass. “For now, drink this and I will put you to bed.” 

Taking off Barry’s black sneakers while he inhaled the water, Talia shucked the socks from his huge feet, blushingly unsure whether or not she was thankful Barry’s track pants didn’t require removal as she looped his firm arm over her shoulder and waddled him down the hall to her bedroom. “Okay…” Talia flipped on the light, trying not to overbalance under Barry’s weight. “Here you go, Barry.” She tried laying him down gently, but he mostly just flopped onto his belly. “Time to sleep now. I will be right here.” Removing a few books from her chair, Talia curled up. “If you need anything. Just say and I will help.”

“Talia…” Barry folded a pillow under his head with a grin. “Don’t let me kick you out of your own bed. Come on. You can sleep over here. It’s not like I can make a move on you, anyway.” As Talia started to stand, Barry’s cobalt gaze followed her with a longing sigh. “No matter how much I might want to.”

Smirking, Talia went to her closet. “Close your eyes then, Dirty Barold.” 

Barry giggled, facing the opposite wall and opening his eyes when the mattress shifted beside him. “Hey.”

“Hello.” Garbed in an oversized, faded t-shirt bearing a graphic Barry couldn’t read and pink gym shorts showing off a plethora of previously unseen inked skin, as Talia curled on her stomach, waterfall of red hair obscuring half of her shy face, the disarming vulnerability of her appearance made Barry’s chest hurt far worse than his back ever could.

“Okay.” Afraid of what might happen if she looked back into those soulful blue eyes for much longer, Talia reached across Barry to turn off the light. “Now we sleep. Goodnight Barry.”

“Night Talia. Hey…” Sizable hand inching halfway across the mattress between them, Barry whispered into his pillow as Talia snuggled down. “Thank you. For taking care of me.”

Fingers tip toeing in trepidation, Talia interlaced with Barry’s, admiring how the moonlight threw his handsome features into sharp relief. “Of course, Barry. I…” Thumb dusting over his knuckles, Talia swallowed, Barry’s eyes in the dim room an inescapable pool of black need. “I am happy to care for you.”

Barry squeezed her hand, and as oblivion washed over him, left eye surrendering, and then the right, the last image before his exhausted, shattered mind was Talia’s face.

***

Waking the next morning, stiff to the point Barry was uncertain he would be able to stand, Talia nestled against him in the night, her scarlet head tucked under his chin as she slumbered. Barry nuzzled into her and she woke, locking into his eyes before her hand left his grasp, her body exiting the bed with a nod.

They passed a quiet morning together. Talia offered him breakfast, but Barry’s stomach refused preemptively. Helping his strong arms back into the black hoodie, Talia zipped him up, avoiding Barry’s gaze, avoiding the tension clouding the silence.

Talia drove him home, belt cutting into his neck as Barry kept his bandaged back away from the seat, trying to think of something to say to her that could capture his gratitude for the previous night’s events. But as Talia shifted into park before his building, Barry summoned a meager two words. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” Keeping her hands on the steering wheel to resist the urge to put them on the beautiful man beside her, Talia stared out of the windshield. “Do you need help getting inside?”

“No.” Barry murmured softly, opening the door. “I got it. Thank you.”

“Here.” Talia retrieved two pill bottles from the pocket of her leather jacket and passed them over. “One for pain every six hours. No more. And one antibiotic each day until they are all gone.”

Large hand closing around the prescriptions, Barry’s fingers graced her skin, sapphire eyes seeking Talia’s face. “Talia...I…”

“Barry…” Withdrawing, Talia swallowed. “I...I should be getting to the monastery now. They will be wondering where I am.”

“Right…” Jawline hardening, Barry’s foot hit the curb. “Right. So...I’ll see you Saturday? For training?”

Nodding, Talia inhaled sharply, voice emerging high and strained as she rapidly blinked. “Yes. I will see you then. Feel better, Barry.”

Throat tight, Barry pulled himself out of the car. “Thanks, Talia. Goodbye. Drive safe…”

Once around the corner, Talia pulled over, a miracle she hit no one as her blind eyes streamed. 

Barry watched Talia drive off, unable to blame the moisture decorating his cheeks on the limp which carried awkwardly to the front door. As he entered the apartment, neither Jermaine nor Nick asked about Barry’s absence, focused on their video game as he lugged himself into his room and collapsed on the bed. Clutching a pillow to his chest, Barry curled onto his side, not bothering to remove his shoes, his hoodie. Barry tried to make himself small, tried to ignore the mockingly cold sheets, tried to deny the overflowing tides of his oceanic eyes as, more than anything, Barry tried to forget about Talia. 

***

Bullets pinging off pots and pans, Barry sized up the Chechens. Though it took time, and none were experts, per se, Barry thought he imparted as much knowledge as possible and a small, undeniable bubble of pride swelled within when he reflected on the state of the men at the beginning. 

“What do you think, though? Are they ready?” Hank asked Barry as they observed the target practice.

Scrunching his face, Barry appraised. “They’re as ready as they’re ever going to be.”

Talia sidled up to them as a woebegone sigh issued from beneath Hank’s black bucket hat and Barry flashed a warm grin. “Shit man. They’re going to be pretty fucking broken up about it. I mean...they’re going to want to say goodbye...and thank you, and…” A broad smile blossomed on Hank’s face. “Oh. Oh Barry...Oh man, you don’t even know… It’s about to go off.”

“Wait…” Barry looked back and forth between them, eyeing Talia’s spreading smirk with apprehension. “What does that mean...?”

As the Chechens danced in a circle around him, Hank bouncing alongside and accordion playing, Barry hoped Talia enjoyed herself as she rolled in the dirt with laughter. Afterwards, Hank presented him with a pin bearing the Chechen flag to let Barry know his debt was paid, telling off the accordion player for interrupting them before a bemused Talia strolled up to Barry with her hands in her pockets.

“So...it seems you have finished turning these molehills into men?”

Barry tittered, bobbing his head. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess so.”

“Well…” Glancing over her shoulder at the others packing up, Talia bit her lip. “It...it’s been nice getting to know you, Barry. I wish you well with the acting and...and everything.”

“Thanks.” Talia started to turn on her heel. Hands fisting at his sides, Barry inhaled sharply. “Talia, isn’t there--”

“Hey Barry!” Popping up like a gopher from the sand out of nowhere, Hank patted him on the shoulder and Barry jumped back in alarm. “Can you do me a super huge favor? You see I have to drive these men home.” Hank gestured widely, looking put upon. “And with the accordion player…” Arms hanging, Hank rolled his eyes. “And his big ass accordion, I simply am out of room. Could you perhaps bring Talia home? Maybe?”

Barry looked from Hank to Talia, mouth falling open. “Oh, I...I’m not…”

“You know where she lives, right?” Hank’s face could not possibly have accommodated  a bigger smile. “And I don’t think Talia minds.” 

Barry thought Hank must not have been able to read body language then, because the acid spilling from Talia’s green eyes as he squeezed both of their arms nearly made him want to run. “Thanks Barry! Bye Talia!” 

Jogging to his car with a wink, Talia not-so-subtly scratched the side of her face with her middle finger as Hank retreated. “Okay…” 

“Yeah…” Fishing his keys out of his pocket, Barry nodded. “Let’s…let’s go.” Both started forward at the same time, clunking into each other and apologizing before Barry pointed to the direction of his car. Matters worsened when Barry attempted to hold the door open for Talia, both of them reaching for the handle, pink faces and muttered apologies before they finally got inside and on the road. 

Silence reaching a titanic level of discomfort, Barry tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “So, um...do you want to play the game?”

“Game?” Thoughts elsewhere, Talia required a moment to catch on. “Oh right. Yes. Sure. Would you like to pick a pair?”

“Okay, um…”  _ Actors. You know actors. You are an actor. Just pick two, dummy. Anybody. Even if it’s easy, that gives her a chance to show off. Who cares? Just. Say. Names.  _ “How about...Julianne Moore and Isla Fisher?” Realizing after they left his mouth he picked two stunning redheads, Barry hoped the contents of his mind didn’t prove too transparent as he drove.

“Um…”  _ Okay. Think. You got this. Julianne Moore...She was in... _ Boogie Nights _...Hmm...Bet Barry has a big dick, too.  _ Shaking her head, Talia sighed in frustration.  _ Okay, no. Work backwards. Isla Fisher. She was in... _ Wedding Crashers.  _ Hmm...I wonder if Barry likes being tied to the bed... Ah, damn it!  _

Talia wiped her palms on the thighs of her black jeans. “I...I am having trouble…”

Taking a right onto Talia’s street, Barry smirked. “I didn’t think I’d ever find one you couldn’t figure out.”

“Yes, well…” Heart beating a fresh tattoo against her chest as they approached her building, Talia spoke in an unheard whisper. “Some things have taken me much too long to figure out, it seems.”

Parking, Barry left the car running. “Well, um...here you go.” Barry knew he should get out. Open Talia’s door. Say a decent goodbye. But he couldn’t. Even the thought of turning his head to the right as he crushed the steering wheel beneath his huge hands was torturous.

“Barry…” Shifting her knees a little, Talia leaned toward the center console. “Perhaps...you should come inside. Let me check your stitches?”

“Oh, they’re fi--” Barry met Talia’s eyes, a valley blossoming with tantalizing promise, and he nodded slowly. “Yeah… Yeah, alright.”

Switching off the engine, Barry hopped around to let Talia out, neither of them calling attention to how fast their feet carried them up to her apartment. Door closing, Talia threw her keys onto the counter and turned to face Barry. Silence crackling and eyes locked, Barry couldn’t help but be reminded of their first face off in the desert. And as Talia stared, blood red lips parted and gaze hungry, Barry wasn’t entirely certain she wouldn’t attack.

“Show me.” Throaty command issuing from her plush mouth, Talia shrugged off her leather jacket, bending over to remove her heavy boots.

“Okay.” Never leaving her gaze, Barry tossed his black hat away, no idea where it landed as he unzipped his puffy coat, fabric rustling to the floor. Pulling his long sleeve black knit overhead with the undershirt attached, Barry ripped his strong arms free, breath shallow as Talia advanced.

Once in range, Barry lifted a hand to her face, dipped in, but Talia snatched his vast shoulders, pivoting him to examine Barry’s broad back. “Hmm…” Fingers trickling alongside the partially healed wound, Talia’s hands roamed, flowing over Barry’s firm chest, his little belly, as she molded herself to his tall frame, embracing Barry from behind. “Looks good…”

Barry twirled in her arms, cupping Talia’s cheek. Capturing her lips, they exchanged a sweet, tender kiss, Barry’s fingertips working into her crimson hair before they parted.

“Oh...come now, Barry.” Talia caressed his stubbled jaw, smirk wicked and green eyes taunting. “I think we can do better than that.”

Forming a fist in her scarlet tresses, Barry clamped a large hand over Talia’s waist, tugging her close with a chuckle. “I think you’re right.”

Knocking their hips together, Barry claimed Talia’s tongue as though he wished to learn Chechen directly from her ravenous mouth, backing them into the table with a mutual grunt. Talia encased Barry’s narrow hips with her legs, fingers greedy as they mowed over his powerful arms, his built chest, finding a home in his brunette tresses as Barry bent her back until a tinkling noise caused them to separate.

Octopus figurine wobbling dangerously, Talia snatched it back into place and released a sigh of relief before turning to Barry. “Bedroom instead?”

“Yes.” Big hands hooked under her thighs, hauling Talia into the air with a delighted squeal and a giggling Barry bounced her backwards down the hall. 

Depositing the two of them on the mattress, Barry linked their lips, shoes clopping to the floor behind him as he hummed into Talia’s warmth. “Hey…” As Talia’s hand moved to urge off his pants, Barry combed an errant strand of red from her face, slipping a finger under her sleeve. “Why am I so naked all of a sudden and you still have all this on? How is that fair?”

Talia’s knees drew up, fingers between them unbuttoning, unzipping, sly and slow as her big toes hooked dexterously into Barry’s waistband. “I see no problem here.” Shooting her legs down with stunning precision, Barry gasped, pants around his ankles and Talia laughing underneath his naked body. “See?” Talia surged her hips forward, kneading Barry’s tiny ass and holding him to herself as she thrust the heat between her thighs against his imploring half mast cock. “It’s good, yes?”

“Oh fuck yes.” Barry mashed their mouths together, kicking his legs free and thrusting against Talia ardently. Large hand sneaking up her ribcage, Barry halted, withdrawing the pressure of his lips. 

But Talia crammed his fingers beneath the underwire of her bra, nodding feverishly. “Barry, we have waited too long. Just touch me. Now!” Talia sat up to remove her shirt and the two of them became a tangle of overeager arms for a moment as Barry tried unsnapping her bra and the fabric snagged halfway over her head. But eventually, between the two of them, Talia achieved toplessness, and Barry’s sizable hands massaged over her breasts, pink pearls of nipple excited by his touch as they ground together.

“Fuck...fuck, Talia. I want you so bad…” Barry popped open the button on her pants and hesitated, scanning Talia’s lust-laden green eyes.

“Me too, Barry.” Wiggling out of her jeans and panties, Talia almost ripped her bedside drawer out in urgency before she rifled and came up with a condom, smacking it to Barry’s firm chest with a nod. “We’ll do this now. Finally.”

Barry placed the condom on the mattress besides them with a giggle. “No.”

“But…” A mewl of discontent left her as Talia glanced down with an expression akin to deepest mourning at his erection. Were Barry not aware of the context, he supposed he would be offended to see someone looking at his cock that way, but as it was, he laughed. “I...I thought you wanted this?”

“Oh, I do…” Cascading down the center of her body, Barry’s lengthy fingers landed between Talia’s thighs, petting the supple lips of her pussy with a smirk. “But we’ve waited this long…” Barry leaned down, millimeters from Talia’s lips, weight of his broad frame pressing her into the mattress as his breath, warm and alluring, floated over her skin. “I want it to be worth it.”

Barry opened Talia and began circling her clit with one thoughtful, patient fingertip. Pink lips traveled over Talia’s cheek and into the curve of her neck, Barry’s gritty chin chafing as he went, electrifying her pale skin as she slickened beneath his ministrations.

“Barry...Barry, yes…” Talia kissed the joint of his sturdy jaw, clinging to Barry, but conscious of avoiding his injured back. “More…”

A chuckle rumbled up through Barry, his pecs vibrating against her tender nipples. “Why should I, Talia?”

“I…” Talia tugged at Barry’s dark hair, his little love handle, rutting her hips forward into his hand, but denied when he easily maintained the distance with a retracting elbow. “Because...because I want it.”

“Not…” Barry nipped at her ear. “Good…” A long tongue, slippery and hot, skipped back to Talia’s lips. “Enough.” Exhaling the last syllable into her open mouth, Barry grinned down at Talia’s anguished face before an expression of resolve overcame her features.

“I...I could do things.” Lips pursed and peeking at him out of the corner of bargaining eyes, Talia made the perfect Russian spy caricature in that instant and Barry laughed.

“Oh yeah?” Trying to assume his sexy persona again as he teased her drenching pussy, Barry arched a prominent brow. “What sort of things?”

“Mouth.” One word. Stated simply and sternly. And yet the pulse through Barry’s cock at her singular intonation tempted him to surrender all control, offering Talia a few generous spins of his fingers before reining himself in.

“Oh...oh yeah?” Barry realized he was nudging his erection insistently against Talia’s hip. That didn’t seem likely to stop anytime soon, so Barry let it go. “What would you do?”

Daggers of her gaze slicing Barry open for her consumption, the smoke of Talia’s voice became opaque with desire. “You know.” Two words. A nod. Barry drove her up and down on the mattress with unrestrained vigor a couple of times, fiddling her clit wildly before he blinked. 

“I...that’s…” Barry rested their foreheads together, giving up as his hand raced between her thighs, needed nothing more than to hear Talia’s breath quicken. “I want that…”

“Barry…” Nails scraping over his biceps, Talia’s thighs snapped shut, pelvis bearing onto his twiddling digits as an unbridled moan shot from her seizing lungs. “Barry, if... _ fuck!” _ Tremors occluding her focus, Talia pitched against Barry, lips abrading on the gravel of his cheek. “If you want this, you cannot lay on your back. You must...you…” Talia huffed herself into shrieks, humping Barry’s big hand and ripping at his brunette locks. “ _ Fuck! Fuck, Barry!” _

Though he possessed nothing resembling fluency, Barry counted himself fortunate at that point he knew a smidgen of Chechen. For the Chechen word for ‘yes’ simply sounded like a short, coarse ‘ha.’ Confusing him initially, Barry couldn’t understand why so many of them were apparently laughing with zero light behind their eyes in conversation.

And Barry found himself lucky once again, Talia sounding as though she were overcome with anguished glee, thrashing as she dripped over his fingers. “ _ Oh Barry! Ha! Ha, Barry! Fuck! Fuck! Ha! _ ” Eyes rolling, a wave of rapture lit over her voluptuous body, heat pulsating from her engaged clit outward to every fiber of her spirit as Talia rattled over the sheets. “Oh...oh Barry...yes...good…”

Barry kissed down her neck and over Talia’s collarbone, sucking a nipple between his pink lips. Sensing his trajectory, Talia pulled at his arm with a shake of her head. “Barry...I was trying to say. If you want...since you cannot be on your back. You must come up here and use my mouth that way. Let me suck you now.”

A shiver ran through him and Barry swallowed. “Okay...yeah, but…” Barry touched Talia’s skin, moving down to her navel. “I want to do you first.”

“No.” Stubborn chin ticking from side to side in frustration, Talia hauled him up. “Let’s do it at the same time. The six-nine.”

Barry giggled, threading back Talia’s scarlet locks. “Okay that sounds good. But…” Sitting up, Barry stretched out his lower lip. “Won’t that be a lot? For you on the bottom, I mean? I don’t want--”

“No.” Shuffling down and expression resolved, Talia beckoned. “I can handle you. Trust me. Come.”

Talia’s hard features and harder words nearly made him do just that as Barry flipped over. “We could just be on our sides. This is fine, Talia. I mean--”

“Haa-ha.”  _ No _ . Always sounding to Barry like a sarcastic laugh, he supposed in this case it was appropriate as Talia grabbed his narrow hips and opened her legs. “On top, Barry. I want this. Now.”

“Okay, I just... _ fuck!”  _ Knee halfway through the air to the other side of her head, Talia rose like a leviathan from the deep, swallowing him whole and without mercy. “ _ Oh fuck! Talia, yes _ …” Gripping her creamy thighs for a minute to orient himself, Talia’s hands slithered, one jerking his thick shaft to her bobbing mouth and the other fondling Barry’s balls. “ _ Fuck _ , Talia...your mouth.  _ Fuck! _ That’s so good… Okay… okay…” Rubbing his pink lips together, Barry nodded to himself, looping beneath Talia’s legs to spread the banquet of her sopping pussy. “Alright…”

Despite the timidity of Barry’s words in the majority of their interactions, his bold mouth surrounded Talia. Tongue indulging in a slather over Talia’s engorged clit with a hefty groan and digging his sharp jaw forward, Barry called for retreat, evaluating his tactics before sending the troops into battle once more.

Talia hollowed her cheeks, head threading into the cage of Barry’s muscular legs as he held himself aloft. Squeezing his tiny backside and burrowing him to the root, Talia undulated her throat muscles around Barry’s tender cock, encouraging him with a hum.

Letting himself sink into the moist solace of her mouth, Barry gently tilted his hips, a muffled gasp escaping him when Talia’s strong fingers began rubbing a pattern of ecstasy into her perineum. Barry lapped vigorously, inserting two lengthy fingers into Talia’s depths, wriggling until he provoked a high note and Talia’s thighs glued to his joined ears.

Mouth loosening in her ardor, Talia screeched around Barry’s lightly driving cock as his supple lips enveloped her clit and sucked with abandon. Even with her throat obscured, Barry could tell the sounds buzzing into the base of his spine were his own name and it spurred him on, plunging recklessly into her soaked pussy and flicking his tongue until Talia convulsed.

“ _ Barry! Ha! Ha! Ha! FUCK!”  _ Wet cock splayed over her face for half a second, Talia hastily jerked Barry, trying to recover. 

Hot mouth ensconcing him again, Barry emerged, face shiny and head shaking. “Talia, I...I can’t wait anymore.” Fingers dragging over her skin, he swallowed. “I need to be inside you. Now.”

“Yes.” Popping off, Talia patted his little asscheek quickly. “Now. Come. Fuck me.”

Barry resituated, rolling the condom down before he positioned himself between Talia’s legs. “Okay.” Clearing her forehead of sweaty red strands, Barry smiled. “Are you ready, Talia?”

“Yes.” Talia grinned, draping her arms over the shelf of his shoulders. “I’m ready, Barold.”

Giggling, Barry gave her a quick peck before painting the wide head of his cock through the dewy folds of her pussy, inching forward to penetrate.

Girth stretching her with a gasp, Talia reminded herself to keep her hands away from the gouge on Barry’s wide back as he burrowed inside her to the apex. “Mmm... _ fuck _ .” Cobalt eyes shuttering closed, Barry’s nostrils flared. As he clenched his teeth, Talia witnessed the relief map of Barry’s face springing to life. The hills of his prominent brow emerging from the pale sands of his face. The angular valleys connecting his jaw and cheekbones. The plowlines of ecstatical concentration appearing in his high forehead. And Talia couldn’t resist gathering their bounty with voracious fingers. “Barry…” She whispered as dark blue eyes flickered open to find her face. “ _ Kiss me.” _

Barry fused their lips together, tongue swimming into Talia’s mouth as he rocked away and in, away and in, strong arm gliding between their smudging flesh. Fingers happened upon the cleft of Talia’s pussy, trickling down, down, until Barry slid around and around her clit, warm flesh on either side of his hand, able to sense but half.

“How’s that?” Cooing words and nuzzling noses, Barry tangled himself in the bramble of Talia’s red hair, not giving a damn if he ever found a way out. “Is this okay?”

“Yes.” Talia breathed, her internal boom clutching Barry within as one of her legs looped around, forcing a scrunch-faced high note from Barry which overjoyed her endlessly. “Yes, Barry. So good.”

Coming up on one knee, Barry propelled forward, increasing his pace as he rotated his hips. “I can go deeper…” Rounded teeth etched a vow of euphoria into the sensitive skin below her ear and Talia shuddered. “If you want…”

“Yes.” Nodding urgently, Talia’s pelvis jutted forward out of sync. “Yes.  _ Please, Barry!” _

Barry hoisted Talia’s leg past the summit of his mountainous shoulder. And then the other. Barry’s shapely thighs joined to her ass, compressing Talia’s lungs beneath the weight of his broad body, a deep, stammered groan breaking from him as he urged inside until no depth remained to grant him passage. “Like that?” 

Hissing, Talia bunched her hands in the sheets, leaves of her eyes flapping in warning of the oncoming storm. “ _ Yes _ ...Oh Barry… Just like that. You are so good.”

“Yeah?” Something in the tone of his word. A vulnerable edge that cut through Talia’s lust-drunk haze. Looking up at Barry, chips of beseeching sapphire searched her face, his dark brow and mouth tense, and Talia could see the words unspoken:  _ You really think so? _

If it wasn’t clear to her before, Talia knew in that raw second, Barry undulating within and breathing labored, he truly believed himself to be good for nothing. What’s more, Talia feared Barry might think within his tall, goofy, kind being; no goodness existed at all.

“Yes, Barry.” Taking his face in both hands, Talia nodded exuberantly. “Amazing.” Talia linked their mouths, transferring a smile to Barry’s pink lips. “You fuck me so good. Keep going.”

“Yeah?” Hopeful this time, Talia grinned and Barry offered a hammering stroke, flicking his hips as he thumbed over Talia’s clit. “Fuck...Talia, you feel so good.” Squishing her pretzel-like, Barry laced their lips together, pelvis starting to pound moans from her curvaceous form. “Damn, it feels so good being inside you. Talia... _ fuck!” _

“ _ Yes, Barry!”  _ Ripping at his coffee-colored tendrils, Talia’s face contorted as she cinched around Barry’s massive cock, oblivious to the raucous noise of the headboard smacking above her, aware of nothing but her own screaming. “ _ Yes! Fuck! Barry! Ha! Fuck me! Ha! Ha! Barry!” _

Talia quaked helplessly, a babble of Chechen pouring from her lips that Barry could only assume was complimentary as her eyes went white. Barry’s breath shot out of him at the sweet squeeze of Talia’s pussy and he lowered her legs. Coiling his powerful arms beneath her trembling body, he hooked under her shoulders, slender hips nailing her to the bed with a hasty vehemence.

“ _ Oh fuck! Talia, yes! Fuck!”  _ Sharing breath, Barry balanced their foreheads together, fighting to keep Talia’s too-close face in view as the actions of his pelvis became stunted and erratic. “ _ Fuck, Talia! Yes! Your pussy feels so good! Fuck! I’m gonna cum! Yes! Fuck!” _

“ _ Barry! Yes! Fuck me! Barry! _ ” Dissolving into her desirous impression of laughter, Talia encased Barry in her limbs, frantically kissing his open mouth as she constricted violently around his barreling cock. 

Whimpers fluttering from the top of his throat, Barry’s toes scrambled over the sheets as he humped a frenzy, voice a high, needy whine. “ _ Talia! Talia, I'm cumming! Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!”  _ Air abandoning him, Barry froze. Left eye twitching irrepressibly, he juddered forward with a sound like a xylophone thrown down the stairs and hitting every step along the way, pitch increasing as Barry’s muscular legs shook before he deflated, gulping oxygen and cheek scratchy against Talia’s face. “Oh...oh fuck…”

Talia petted through Barry’s sweat-blackened hair, wrapping her arms and legs around him and swaying them back and forth with a contented hum. “That…” Pressing a kiss below his joined ear, Talia squeezed Barry adoringly. “Was worth the wait.”

Chuckling weakly, Barry’s lips sought a patch of Talia’s skin and came away salty. “Yeah…” Barry rolled, bringing a smiling Talia with him. Crossing her arms, Talia snuggled down on Barry’s built chest, admiring his recovering face as she rested her chin on her wrists. “So…” Picking off a blade of red stuck to her forehead, Barry’s other fingers flowed lazily down Talia’s tattooed curves. “What made you change your mind, anyway?”

“Well...” Talia took a breath, sticking out her lower lip. “I thought about it. And...if in your free time...you are busy getting stabbed and starting fights in grocery stores then…” Shrugging, Talia smirked, lifting a hand to caress Barry’s strong jaw. “Then maybe you and I being together is not the most foolish thing in your life.”

“Yeah.” Beaming, Barry gathered Talia close, planting a kiss to her temple. “Maybe not.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read! If you enjoyed this story, please leave a comment or come say hi on tumblr at fandomtransmandom. I also accept requests!


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